My situation: Five years ago I bought a condo in a brand new development and my five year mortgage term is coming up, I had originally planned to keep it for five years before deciding my next move, which I did. I'm on the fence as to whether or not I should keep it but two blocks away, another building is nearing completion with 30% of the units unsold and I'm thinking of selling my current condo and buying a new one over there. I just spent an hour at the new place and its pretty nice, I like it better than my current one, both location wise and the condo itself although the two are quite similar (four floors high, wood construction).
What I'd like to know: Does this make sense from an investment/living point of view? I've thought about buying a house in the same area, which would cost about the same as the new condo but houses are a lot more maintenance and since I work out of town and travel often, I think its best that I stay in a condo for the time being. Is it strategic to upgrade condos by moving to a new one after a few years?
Condo specifics: I bought my current place in 2011 for $270,000. Pre-oil crash, it was up to about $330,000 but has since gone down to about $310,000-315,000 according to the prices I've seen for other units for sale online. The new place has units going for $390,000 to $415,000. The current place is 2 bedrooms, 2 baths 980 square feet and the new units are 1117-1184 square feet with 2 bedrooms plus a nice sized den and 2 baths. Condo fees are similar in both units at around $350/month, property taxes in the current unit are $2300/year and likely similar in the new one, maybe a couple of hundred more.
City specifics: The city is located in Edmonton, Canada. Not the nicest city in the country and its recently taken a beating with the oil slump but the fundamentals are solid (lots of industrial work, government jobs, the most diversified city in the province of Alberta). Although its not my favourite city, as a tradesman, its one of the best places in the country for me to live. The area is an established neighbourhood, close to several amenities including a shopping mall, an extension campus of the U of A (one of the best unis in Canada) as well as Whyte Avenue, one of the main entertainment districts in the city.
-One concern I have is buying directly from the developer, they came up with the idea to build the place and started the surveying and initial phases of construction when oil was at $100/barrel, this was before the real estate prices dipped all over the city, although less so in the more desirable areas, like this one. I'm concerned that their costs may be a bit overpriced since I'm sure that they want to sell for the same prices that they originally had in mind. Obviously, I don't want to buy into a place that isn't worth as much as I buy it for but I am confident that the worst of the oil crash is over and I think housing prices will remain steady even increase incrementally over the next five years.
I had my current condo rented for three years, both are highly rentable given the desirable location, back when oil was up, I had my current place rented for $1550/month but am not sure I could get that now as the downturn in oil has put downward pressure on the rental market. I would be buying the new place to live in part of the year (when I'm not away working or traveling) so won't be renting it out, unless I take on a roommate as I currently have. I'd also have to look into how much equity I can play around with and interest rates, which are quite low now, I"m paying 2.05% on my variable but am thinking of locking in to a 3-5 year fixed rate (2.33%) when my term comes up in a couple of months, whether I buy the new place or not.
Anyway, just wondering if anyone out there has any advice. I'm not a real estate guru by any means so any input is appreciated.
What I'd like to know: Does this make sense from an investment/living point of view? I've thought about buying a house in the same area, which would cost about the same as the new condo but houses are a lot more maintenance and since I work out of town and travel often, I think its best that I stay in a condo for the time being. Is it strategic to upgrade condos by moving to a new one after a few years?
Condo specifics: I bought my current place in 2011 for $270,000. Pre-oil crash, it was up to about $330,000 but has since gone down to about $310,000-315,000 according to the prices I've seen for other units for sale online. The new place has units going for $390,000 to $415,000. The current place is 2 bedrooms, 2 baths 980 square feet and the new units are 1117-1184 square feet with 2 bedrooms plus a nice sized den and 2 baths. Condo fees are similar in both units at around $350/month, property taxes in the current unit are $2300/year and likely similar in the new one, maybe a couple of hundred more.
City specifics: The city is located in Edmonton, Canada. Not the nicest city in the country and its recently taken a beating with the oil slump but the fundamentals are solid (lots of industrial work, government jobs, the most diversified city in the province of Alberta). Although its not my favourite city, as a tradesman, its one of the best places in the country for me to live. The area is an established neighbourhood, close to several amenities including a shopping mall, an extension campus of the U of A (one of the best unis in Canada) as well as Whyte Avenue, one of the main entertainment districts in the city.
-One concern I have is buying directly from the developer, they came up with the idea to build the place and started the surveying and initial phases of construction when oil was at $100/barrel, this was before the real estate prices dipped all over the city, although less so in the more desirable areas, like this one. I'm concerned that their costs may be a bit overpriced since I'm sure that they want to sell for the same prices that they originally had in mind. Obviously, I don't want to buy into a place that isn't worth as much as I buy it for but I am confident that the worst of the oil crash is over and I think housing prices will remain steady even increase incrementally over the next five years.
I had my current condo rented for three years, both are highly rentable given the desirable location, back when oil was up, I had my current place rented for $1550/month but am not sure I could get that now as the downturn in oil has put downward pressure on the rental market. I would be buying the new place to live in part of the year (when I'm not away working or traveling) so won't be renting it out, unless I take on a roommate as I currently have. I'd also have to look into how much equity I can play around with and interest rates, which are quite low now, I"m paying 2.05% on my variable but am thinking of locking in to a 3-5 year fixed rate (2.33%) when my term comes up in a couple of months, whether I buy the new place or not.
Anyway, just wondering if anyone out there has any advice. I'm not a real estate guru by any means so any input is appreciated.